Sir John Ross Marshall

Sir John Ross Marshall, (born March 5, 1912, Wellington, N.Z.—died Aug. 30, 1988, England), lawyer, politician, and statesman who was prime minister of New Zealand (1972) and a leading figure in the economic planning of the Commonwealth for more than two decades.

A member of Parliament (1946–75), he also held several Cabinet posts, including minister of health (1951–54), minister of justice (1954–57), and minister of commerce and industry (1960–69), and in 1972 he was prime minister. Marshall was also a representative to the United Nations (1970), chairman of the National Development Council (1969–72), and a director of several companies. He was knighted in 1974.